|
“Terrestial Extras on Tour to the Dark-Side of
Wirksworth”
“There's life in Wirksworth - but not as we
know it, Jim”, said Geoff Barker to Roger Doughty before setting off to orbit
Middleton Moor on Sunday 4th February 2007. This hilly 12 mile tour of
“discovery” to view Prehistoric tombs, Roman remains and the scarred fields of
lead-working and quarrying from the Dark Ages to the Modern day, would stimulate
and fascinate the whole group - “one way or another!“
Our route by-passed Dimon's Dale as we departed
Black Rock Car Park and entered Dark Lane before heading through the old
lead-field of overgrown spoil-heaps and mine-shafts below Middleton-by-Wirksworth.
We passed the mediaeval agricultural strips, enclosed by the drystone walls of
limestone, on our way through to Chapel Lane to take the steep ginnel of Sandy
Hill, leading to the quaintly designated route “Dog Poo Path“. The deposits were
there for the unwary to tread in alright, so we trod with care . . . . .
"Not very pretty round there", some might say.
But for the uninitiated there would be highlights and surprises a-plenty. The
amazing panorama of scenes over and aloft Riber Castle guarding the Derwent
Valley and The Matlocks, along with the Ecclesbourne Valley's Alport Heights,
overseeing the beautiful sheet of Carsington Water below, were all there for us
to behold on top of Middleton Moor. The day was perfect under blue-skies and
glorious sunshine with much more to unfold as we followed little used footpaths
on our way forward to Brassington.
This area has received an enormous impact at
the hands of Man in pursuit of the mineral wealth hidden beneath. Exploitation
since Roman times is evident all around where the search for veins of valuable
lead and barytes has brought work, very hard work indeed, to the local
inhabitants for many centuries. The effects of their digging and tunnelling has
produced a remarkable scenic legacy if you have the imagination to look inside
and beyond any immediate sensation of its apparent ugliness. Sadly, this is
quite impossible when the drama is wrecked by the presence of refractory
brickworks that crash into view at the summit trig. point, after the eastern
approach to Harboro' Rocks. One just has to try and ignore it and savour the
glory, yonder - the “Best” prospect of the South Derbyshire landscape. The scar
will be allowed to heal when ultimately the dolomite sand and fire-clay pits are
worked-out and the buildings obliterated. “The authority of the Barmote Court in
the Liberty of Wirksworth still exceeds the judgement of the National Park
interest“.
The surface spoil of old lead workings gives
the appearance of those mogul-fields that every accomplished skier loves to
ride. The quarried faces of fissured limestone with their natural bands of
calcite and basalt can be imagined as mighty coastal crags. What is now on top
of the world used to be deep under a tropical sea.
Industrial archaeology is rife . . . . the
courses of ancient trade routes, chariot ways, old tramroads, engine houses and
railways are here for all to see and wonder at . . .
. . . “Every day out is a good
day out with Derby Nomad Ramblers!“
The line of the footpath from Moor Farm became
obscure so, not unusually, the navigational skills of the leader demanded
correction. Fortunately, the combined-error of the regulating body of
adjudicators present, helped guide us through the cattle-creep under the
Hoptonwood Quarry Branch of the former Cromford and High Peak Railway, to Arm
Lees Farm - right on schedule for “elevenses“ at precisely 11-30.
Nomad tummies always seem to rumble by the
“Stroke-of-Eleven“ so we sat in the sunshine to enjoy ten minutes of crunching
and munching and the taking on of liquid before pushing upward and onward to
Griffe Grange and the out-cropping tiers of magnesium limestone that is Harboro'
Rocks. Here the people of the New Stone Age left the remains of their dead, with
artifacts from 6,000 years ago, entombed in the cave below. Bronze Age dwellers
also used the cave as a place of burial almost 2,000 years before the Roman
Occupation of Britain. And here still, is a strong and mysterious feeling of
prehistory. “Little imagination is needed to realize the choice of this
windswept top, beneath the heavens, where the Gods could claim the souls of the
departed.
What a tragedy that below this sacred site is
the damnification that is Hoben Works on Manystones Lane. And, the latest
outrage is a proposal to destroy the sky-line and further mar one of the finest
views in the county, by erecting monstrous wind-turbines over Carsington Pasture
to generate “green“-energy . . . . “Thanks but, no thanks! Pray that the
application is refused”.
Forward then to “Brasson“ for the lunchtime
stop at the "“Miner's Arms“" where it was warm and sheltered enough to sit out
in the garden and enjoy the sun. The usual chatter and banter prevailed during
the fifty-minute break, with a pint of real-ale or a coffee and a bowl of chips
to precede one's own butties later.
Carsington Pasture - “a very important
archaeological site where there is much more to discover than we know already“ -
marks the southern boundary of the Derbyshire lead mining field. This was once
an area of intense activity and our way, using the old miner's track through
Nickalum Mine, into the quiet of Carsington. The village street here connects
directly with “Snowdrop City“ - i.e. Hopton Hall where the Gardens offer a
spectacular display. Numerous “curiosities“ adorn the roadside - a lonely,
conical, stone-built ice-house - the "crinkle-crankle" wall surrounding the
formal garden with its peculiar 30 foot high summer-house - Boundary Stones,
Milestones and mounting-blocks - the eroded stone-sign over the doorway of the
former George and Dragon Inn - Sir Philip Gell's Almshouses for "2 Poor men and
2 Poor women"“ and“ a long abandoned lime-kiln“. All in the short space of a
quarter-of-a-mile.
At the end of this old coach road, the footpath
was followed over to Broxendale but not before a short refreshment stop in the
shade of a group of trees, on the side of the hill, to prepare us for our
“"trip-to-the-moon". . . .
. . . . "Seeing is
believing", the desolate and eerie “lunar“ landscape that greets the eye is the
abandoned Middle Peak Quarry, with its blue-green lagoon deep in the bottom of
this enormous rocky hole. The bedrock has been blasted and torn away, leaving us
with stark and massive cliffs of limestone, some of awesome dimension which are
both, ugly and beautiful - a true paradox and a spectacular sight, revealed by
the restoration of an old right-of-way over to Dale End. “There's an enormous
amount of repair work here for Mother Nature”. . . . .
The new wooden stepway led us down to the head
of The Dale and Green Hill giving the opportunity to look over Stoney Wood where
the old quarry has become Wirksworth's Millennium Project. This fore-sighted
scheme to reclaim a devastated site with tree-planting and the laying-out of
pathways, as well as the provision of an ornamental bridge, needs much time yet,
before nature takes a firm hold.
“The Lead Mining Capital of Derbyshire now lies
before us. We have a bird's-eye view of this “unsung“ town with its treasure of
ancient buildings and winding ways. And it is from the summit of Green Hill that
one of Wirksworth's “secrets“ is about to be disclosed . . . .
. . . . "The Maze",
or, "Puzzle Gardens" as it is also called.
This truly is a “hidden-gem“ and exploration
requires concentration, orientation and a sense of direction beyond the norm. It
is said that a ghostly wailing pervades the air, every full moon, when hundreds
of lost and bewildered souls, locked and imprisoned for eternity within this
entanglement of twitchels, jitties and wynds, can find no way out. Although, it
is also said that there is not an old Nomad amongst them.
“Oh, dear! Can it be that the Author's fanciful
story-telling is getting the better of an acceptable level of buffalo-droppings
and flummery?“
In single file, we followed through a
well-camouflaged entrance to descend, via a steep and winding channel, into The
Dale, where cottages are built directly under precipitous and overhanging cliffs
of limestone. This picturesque scene has no equal anywhere in Derbyshire, tucked
quietly away from the rest of Wirksworth-World and containing a mini-Stonehenge
and many more interesting features to discover. By the unique play-area, we
turned up a further steep channel to enter a labyrinth of quirky winding
pathways that make up the Puzzle Gardens, snaking and weaving down, round and
upward to re-enter Green Hill above the former Workhouse and Hospital. “Green
Hill provides the best aerial view of the town roofscape and the Church“.
Gathered again, we proceeded down another
ginnel, passing an octagonal stone-built gazebo, before crossing the footbridge
to find the Moot Hall, seat of the Barmote Court, standing majestically in
Chapel Lane. On then, to North End past the Old Lock Up to access Cemetery Lane
where, from the bridge, we were able to absorb the effort by Ecclesbourne Valley
Railway Preservation Society to bring back life into the old Goods Yard.
Following the footpath up to Bolehill, with its
strong sense of a lifestyle long gone, we entered the narrow street of Nan
Gell's Hill to observe the onetime homes of lead smelters, before the final leg
along the road to Black Rock . . . . “Another great Nomad walk, full of
interest and scenic value - Enjoyed by all!”
Members and Guests present:-
Denis Cornforth Lorraine Davie
Diane Wallace Phil Woodhead
Steve Booth
Nicola Krysiak Cathy Luffman
Roger Doughty
Ann Smith Anne
Holborn Brenda Beardsley Pauline Kinderman
Emrys Jones Joanne Jones
Chris Fairhall Caroline Fairhall
Griff Brewer Barrie
Crofts Brian Reacher Mike McGlinchey
Patrick Mulryan Jean
Joyce Dawn Griffiths Brian Purcell
Geoff Beswick Carolyn Veevers
Andrew Lawton Patsy Lawton
Mary Parsonage Janet Williams and Sadie
Leader: Geoff Barker
Anode Boden 2007
|
